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Dec 12 Obama Likens Trump Era to Nazi Germany

The country has seen an immense amount of polarization and lack of common ground in recent years in American politics. The 2016 election cycle exacerbated tensions, giving way to increasingly charged rhetoric from both sides. Hyperbolic language has plagued the political climate in recent months, with seemingly little prospect of calming down. Recently, Barack Obama compared the Trump Era to the likes of Nazi Germany; aside from the absurdity of the comparison, the Obama administration’s policies and philosophy showed a far closer similarity to the Nazi regime than the Trump Administration.

On December 5, Barack Obama spoke at a question and answer session before the Economic Club of Chicago. Mellody Hobson, the Ariel Investments President, was the moderator for the evening, asking the former president a variety of questions. The beginning set of questions were less serious, such as who Obama favored in the Batman vs. Superman debate. As the interview progressed, the questions evolved into a more complex nature, dealing with international affairs and the current state of America.

Obama argued that the harms of globalization has left many cultures globally, specifically the United States and Europe, angered and frustrated. This agitation has led to a simplistic response toward nationalism, Obama postulated. Urging diligence to the audience, Obama said “We have to tend to this garden of democracy, or things could fall apart quickly.” Continuing the sentiment, Obama warned of Germany in the 1930s, where despite economic and scientific developments with a functioning democracy, Hitler still rose to power. To conclude his remarks, Obama stated “Sixty million people died...So you’ve got to pay attention. And Vote.”

After remarks made by the former president circulated, immediate blowback ensued from many in the public, not just traditional conservatives. Speaking out against the current president breaks the longstanding tradition of ex-presidents to remain relatively quiet once out of office. Additionally, Hitler and Nazi comparisons are so inflammatory and bold, they must be held in reservation for only severe circumstances; branding the Trump movement akin to the likes of the Nazi party is nothing short of disgraceful. In addition, if one is to compare the Obama Administration and Trump Administration to Nazi Germany, the policies and philosophy of the Obama coalition is far more similar to the Nazis than Trump’s.

The Nazi government was centered around a philosophy of strong central planning and a large government. Adolf Eichmann, a prominent Nazi largely responsible for the orchestration of the Holocaust, wrote of the Nazi party that they celebrated socialist policies and had a strong social welfare program. Under his tenure, Obama expanded the welfare state, making it easier for people to qualify for benefits. The Republican Party, currently led by Donald Trump, has traditionally been in favor of shrinking entitlement programs.

Continuing a pursuit of a larger and more powerful government, the Nazi Party dreamed of having a health care for all government program. After entering office, one of Obama’s biggest actions was directing the passage of the Affordable Care Act, expanding further government control into the healthcare industry. In an interview with Bill Maher, Obama stated he probably would have pushed for a single payer system if he had the opportunity to start from scratch. The Republican philosophy, on the other hand, desires to eliminate ObamaCare and move to a free market system where the consumer chooses what healthcare to buy, not the government.

Finally, at the cornerstone of the Nazi Party is the vile and despicable Jew hatred rooted deep in their hearts. This motivated them to gradually ostracize Jews from the general population, eventually culminating in concentration and labor camps. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that Barack Obama harbors such horrific hatred in his heart for the Jewish people, but he routinely emboldened anti-Semitic regimes throughout his tenure as president.

Relations between Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu were more than strained during the eight years of the Obama presidency, and the leader of the only Jewish nation in the world was routinely snubbed by Obama. In 2011, Obama and then French President Nicolas Sarkozy were caught on hot mics venting over their dislike of Netanyahu. Sarkozy told Obama, “I cannot stand him. He’s a liar.” Obama followed suit by saying, “You’re fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day.” Distancing himself from Netanyahu, the only leader of a Jewish state, was a common theme in both of President Obama's terms. Conversely, President Trump has developed a great relationship with the Jewish leader; Trump recently recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people and plans to move the United States’ embassy there from Tel Aviv. Trump has been far more supportive of the Jewish state in his short tenure than Obama was in the entirety of his eight years in office.

Contrastingly, Obama made a continued effort to support and fund regimes dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews. Obama saw continued funding in the direction of Palestine throughout his presidency. In the final hours of his presidency, Obama released $221 million dollars to the Palestinian Authority, as his final gut punch to Israel. The Palestinian Authority is a terrorist organization that routinely seeks to commit acts of violence against innocent Jewish people.

Of all the aid and support Obama has given to anti-Semitic regimes, nothing comes close to his emboldening of Iran. In the now infamous Iran Deal, Obama paved the way for the most Nazi-like regime on the face of the earth to strengthen immensely. This deal give Iran over one billion dollars back into their economy, the ability to keep funding terrorism, build an industrial-sized nuclear program, and build ballistic missiles possibly capable of nuclear payloads. The leader of Iran expressed his goal to annihilate Israel off the face of the earth in 2014.

The evils perpetrated by those in the Nazi regime were unparalleled in human history, and hopefully never resurface again. Comparing an individual or society to the likes of the Nazis is almost always questionable at best. Likening situations and people to the Nazi regime should be rarely used and with extreme caution. Unfortunately, Barack Obama disregarded this apprehension and boldly asserted that the Trump Era shares similarities to Germany in the 1930s when Hitler rose to power. Ironically, if there is going to be a comparison to Nazi Germany, the actions and philosophy of the Obama Administration are far closer to the Nazis than the Trump Administration. Obama expanded the growth of government through welfare and medicare, just like the socialist programs of the Nazis; furthermore, Obama repeatedly contributed to propping up despicable anti-semitic regimes devoted to the destruction of Israel. If anyone is closer to the Nazis, it’s Obama, not Trump.